El Paso considering purchasing land to expand Clint landfill

The city is considering expanding the Greater El Paso Landfill in Clint, which would help for future growth and use, officials said.

"Nobody wants the landfill next to them, but if we already have it there and the land is available, then it's easier to plan for the long term," said Ellen Smyth, director of the city's Environmental Services Department. "Even if it sits empty for 10 or more years, it'll be ready once you need it."

The City Council on Tuesday will consider buying 1,200 acres of land adjacent to the city landfill for $5.25 million from the current owner, Kasco Ventures. Permit and development costs could bring the total price tag to about $10 million, according to city documents.

The proposal calls for the purchase to become part of the 2014 Capital Improvement Plan, which would put the expansion as one of the city's priorities. Certificates of obligation could be used for the land purchase, which would be repaid by Environmental Services revenues collected in fees charged to customers for trash pickup and related services.

Smyth said the 217-acre landfill has a capacity for about another 17 years, and the expansion would increase the lifespan by about 80 more years. The expansion would also require a new permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which could cost an additional $2.5 million.

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"We would still have to go through the approval process, so it would buy us time to plan and prepare for the future to buy the land now," Smyth said. The permit process requires quality studies and reports in a number of areas, including groundwater, archaeology and geology, as well as the distance between the landfill and neighborhoods, and schools and businesses, among others, she said.

Smyth said the city has made many improvements to the landfill over the years, including installing bathrooms, scales and an evaporation pond to make it more customer and environmentally friendly.

The 280-acre McCombs Landfill in Northeast, which closed in 2005, would not likely be reopened in the near future, Smyth said. That would require a capital investment of about $18.5 million by the city, she added.

The discussion follows a November council meeting in which city staff was directed to explore the cost and process to buy the necessary land to expand the Greater El Paso Landfill. At the time, council took no action to reopen the McCombs facility.

In a related matter, the council will also introduce a revision to a city ordinance regarding the movement of trash to landfills. Known as flow control, the issue has been a heated debate for the city for years.

The council under the Legislative Review Committee in November voted to rescind its flow control policy that was to be implemented next year. Approved in 2010, the ordinance would have required commercial waste to go to city landfills rather than a private one in Sunland Park, N.M., as is now the practice

The introduction is the first in a two-step process to make the change official. A public hearing will follow before council takes a final vote. The council had also discussed implementing a franchise fee for trash haulers who do business in the city, but in November abandoned the idea.

The council at the time also directed city staff to compare the cost of outsourcing residential trash collection with the current cost to the city to provide those services — essentially privatizing the service. Smyth said that may be discussed at a future meeting when staff completes its report.